After a decade-long battle to stay in Australia, most of Melbourne's
1500-strong community of East Timorese asylum seekers are expected to be
granted permanent residency by the Federal Government.

Immigration Minister Philip Ruddock yesterday said he would intervene
now to grant 379 East Timorese permanent visas as long as they passed
health and character checks.

A high proportion of the remaining asylum seekers were also likely to
be accepted on the grounds of their persecution in East Timor and links
with the Australian community, the Government indicated.

About 1500 of Australia's 1600 East Timorese asylum seekers are living
in Victoria on bridging visas after fleeing strife-torn East Timor in the
1990s - many in response to the 1991 Santa Cruz cemetery massacre, in
which Indonesian soldiers opened fire on mourners in a Dili funeral
procession.

The latest indications from the Government were cautiously welcomed by
East Timorese community members in Melbourne, but some said they would not
celebrate until the process was completed.

Mr Ruddock is working through more than 500 requests to use his
discretion to intervene on humanitarian grounds, and so far has rejected
only two and asked for further questions on three cases. He is still
considering about 200 requests.

His spokesman said a rough examination of another 1000 cases still
before the Refugee Review Tribunal indicated a high proportion would meet
the guidelines for intervention.

Their applications for refugee status were delayed for years by a legal
dispute over whether they should instead be seeking the protection of
Portugal, East Timor's former colonial ruler.

Once the Government resumed processing their applications last year,
their claims for refugee status had collapsed because East Timor had
gained independence from Indonesia in 1999 and it was considered they no
longer faced persecution at home.

Mr Ruddock yesterday said it was inappropriate to create a special visa
class for the East Timorese - as requested by refugee advocates and
Opposition parties - because circumstances could vary from case to case.
"The Government took the view that I should continue to process these
matters individually and to take into account the circumstances that were
raised," he said.

A spokesman said Mr Ruddock was generally intervening in cases where
people had experienced discrimination or persecution, and had strong
family links with Australia. Other asylum seekers could be accepted if
they suffered poor health that would deteriorate if they returned home or
if they ran a business.

Fivo Freitas, 27, a former East Timorese resistance fighter now living
in Richmond, said last night he was feeling more optimistic about his
prospects for staying.

But his case was still pending in the Refugee Review Tribunal and he
would not celebrate until all 1600 asylum seekers were allowed to stay.

"We've been fighting this struggle and been in limbo for more than
a decade," Mr Freitas said.

"I am praying and hoping that the Australian Government is wise
like the Australian people and wants us to stay."

East Timorese-born community worker Etervina Groenen, who works at the
North Richmond Community Health Centre, described the reactions of people
who had received letters advising them they could stay. "They're
overjoyed," she said.

"It is nice for me too . . . I've shared a lot of the frustration
and pain of my own people and I know what they went through in East
Timor."

Victorian Premier Steve Bracks welcomed the decision and called on the
Federal Government to resolve quickly the outstanding cases.

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